Donation to fund new equipment for search and rescue service

Warwickshire Search and Rescue (WarkSAR) has received a £1,000 donation from NFU Mutual to purchase specialist clothing equipment for their volunteers.

WarkSAR is a lowland rescue team, part of a much bigger family of 36 teams across the UK and all its members are unpaid volunteers aged 18 to 80 years old.

They are available to respond to callouts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year and WarkSAR also has a search dog team and a specialist kayak team.

Each search technician volunteering with the charity requires a complete set of waterproof outdoor wear suitable for all weather conditions and situations. The from NFU Mutual money will be divided between four of the charity’s newly qualified Search Technicians once they have completed their year of intensive training.

Ian Malins, team chair of WarkSAR, said: “This welcome donation makes a huge difference to us. It will enable WarkSAR to fully kit out four trainee Search Technicians once they have completed their training, providing the team with more personnel on the ground during searches for vulnerable missing people in Warwickshire and the surrounding areas.”

Beth Pritchard, corporate social responsibility consultant at NFU Mutual, added: “The pandemic has been a difficult time for charities, forcing them to postpone many of their usual fundraising activities. WarkSAR make a wonderful difference to our community and we hope that this donation will help them to continue their vital operations.”